| PETase | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 I. sakaiensis PETase (A0A0K8P6T7) in complex with HEMT, a PET analogue (PDB: 5XH3). | |||||||||
| Identifiers | |||||||||
| EC no. | 3.1.1.101 | ||||||||
| Alt. names | PET hydrolase, poly(ethylene terephthalate) hydrolase | ||||||||
| Databases | |||||||||
| IntEnz | IntEnz view | ||||||||
| BRENDA | BRENDA entry | ||||||||
| ExPASy | NiceZyme view | ||||||||
| KEGG | KEGG entry | ||||||||
| MetaCyc | metabolic pathway | ||||||||
| PRIAM | profile | ||||||||
| PDB structures | RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum | ||||||||
| |||||||||
PETases are an esterase class of enzymes that catalyze the breakdown (via hydrolysis) of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic to monomeric mono-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET). The idealized chemical reaction is:
- (ethylene terephthalate)n + H2O → (ethylene terephthalate)n-1 + MHET,
where n is the number of monomers in the polymer chain, though a trace amount of the PET breaks down instead to bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET).[1] PETases can also break down PEF-plastic (polyethylene-2,5-furandicarboxylate), which is a bioderived PET replacement, into the analogous MHEF. PETases can't catalyze the hydrolysis of aliphatic polyesters like polybutylene succinate or polylactic acid.[2]
Whereas the degradation of PET by natural (non-enzymatic) means will take hundreds of years, PETases can degrade it in a matter of days.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Yoshida 2016was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Austin HP, Allen MD, Donohoe BS, Rorrer NA, Kearns FL, Silveira RL, et al. (May 2018). "Characterization and engineering of a plastic-degrading aromatic polyesterase". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 115 (19): E4350–E4357. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115E4350A. doi:10.1073/pnas.1718804115. PMC 5948967. PMID 29666242.
- ^ Dockrill, Peter. "Scientists Have Accidentally Created a Mutant Enzyme That Eats Plastic Waste". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2018-11-27.